In my practice, I treat school-age children, adolescents, adults and couples.  When working with children, I attempt to foster self-confidence and contentment in place of sadness and worry.  I also develop interventions that build cooperation in place of lying and defiance.  I help youngsters develop a greater sense of self-control to help reduce aggression and tantrums and help develop genuine closeness to reduce clingy behaviors and irritability.  I work closely with parents, teachers, school personnal and pediatricians to ensure that the child is receiving a continuim of care that is optimal and provides the best chance at success and happiness.

Treating adolescents is quite challenging work, but I've been told that I have an extraordinary ability to develop therapeutic bonds with angry, resistant, and withdrawn teenagers.  The adolescent years can pose significant challenges as teenagers begin to develop a greater sense of "self" outside of the family while still requiring the nurturance and guidance of the family.  Adolescence can also prove to be very trying times for parents, and as such, I employ a family systems approach to treatment which de-emphasizes the need to identify the adolescent as "the patient" and focuses more on identifying maladaptive patterns and relationships within the family as a whole. The goal of this type of intervention is to help all family members grow and individuate within the context of the family.

My work with adults focuses on treating emotional disorders such as depression, anxiety/fear, loss or grief, substance abuse and trauma/PTSD.  I also help adults with personality disorders such as dependence, narcissism, and obsessive compulsive behaviors.  My objective in treatment is to initially provide relief from the symptoms that brought you to therapy.  As the course of therapy continues, I will begin to focus more on your strengths and in helping you identify these strengths and to be able to use them as "you become your own therapist."  I hope you will afford me the privilege of helping you as you search for greater self-awareness and personal fulfillment.